November 2, 2017 archive

The passage of HB 1085x, a revenue raising bill that passed on the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Wednesday during special session, has evoked a response from the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association about raising the gross production tax rate on more than 6,600 legacy wells to 7 percent. “With this bill, …

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has wrapped up a lengthy three-year probe of its land purchase and mineral royalty payment practices by taking no further action. According to the company’s Form 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission submitted on Thursday, the DOJ informed Chesapeake on …

Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy Corp. reported earnings of $183 million or $0.92 per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2017, according to a company press release issued on Thursday. This compares with $184 million or $0.92 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2016. OG&E, a regulated electric utility, contributed earnings of $0.81 per share in the third …

Oil futures continued to show gains on Thursday as prices rise to their highest finish since 2015, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch. December West Texas Intermediate crude added 24 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $54.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to finish at …

Just declaring an end to the “war on coal” doesn’t mean coal companies no longer have to battle for survival. This week, Armstrong Energy based in Missouri but with big operations in western Kentucky filed for bankruptcy. It was the first coal company to enter into bankruptcy since President Trump took office nearly a year …

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin this week moved to create a broadband network for the state’s first responders. She signed an opt-in letter with FirstNet and ATT to strengthen public safety and increase emergency preparedness by making Oklahoma part of the National Broadband Network. “Today is a good day for Oklahoma as we opt in to …

No wonder Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s quarterly loss was wider than Wall Street expected. While the company blamed a loss on hedging and a jump in exploration expenses, the Houston-based company also reported it spent $565 million on dry holes in the third quarter,more than double what it spent a year ago. That’s a reflection how …

A Kansas resident fighting proposed wastewater injection wells has stumbled onto a mistake in permitting by the Kansas Corporation Commission. Cindy Hoedel of Matfield Green was poring over the requests of companies when she found the operators had not accurately informed nearby residents of their rights to protest the wells. Now the KCC is figuring …

A Houston area company has plans to drill more than 100 water wells in West Texas so it can sell water to oil companies in the Permian Basin. Layne Christensen is partnering with the state of Texas in the project. The deal is with the Texas General Land Office headed by George P. Bush and …

Under a bill offered and passed by Republicans in the Oklahoma House on Wednesday, gross production taxes on so-called Legacy wells would be increased from 4 percent to 7 percent, raising nearly 450 million in the last half of FY 18. House Bill 1085X would also raise another $100 million for the entire FY 19. …